Preps

Sharks take big bite out of Lions

BROOKSVILLE - Hernando Christian thought it was getting Nature Coast Tech's junior varsity when this one was scheduled months ago.

Nature Coast called back and said it needed a varsity Homecoming game.

Well, put it this way - it was a spirited Homecoming.

Nature Coast picked up its second win Friday 64-6 over first-year Hernando Christian.

It was a clear mismatch, replete with a running clock throughout the second half.

HCA (0-8) at least made the Sharks think about it for half a quarter, as a Ryan Walczak touchdown run from 9 yards made it 7-6 (the extra-point snap was fumbled).

But in the next two and a half minutes Nature Coast quarterback Billy Hughes scored on two option keepers, and the touchdowns (with a Lions interception in the middle) made it 21-6 at the end of the first quarter.

"The two touchdowns took the wind out of our sails, and that gave them momentum," HCA coach Steve Johnson said. "We were in this game until then. You could have heard a pin drop on that side of the field."

In the second quarter, you could hear the scoreboard going haywire. Nature Coast dropped 33 points in a 10-minute span.

The first touchdown, however, caught Johnson's wrath. On a Britt Tafalski run, Nature Coast's Rian Williams stripped the ball and dashed 88 yards for a touchdown.

"(The official's) telling me he "wasn't really down.' What's "really?' He comes up with grass stains on his pants, for crying out loud," Johnson said. "I did not care for the officiating on this side of the field."

Williams accounted for two more touchdowns in that burst, on runs of 9 and 53 yards. For the game, Williams rushed 12 times for 126 yards and three scores.

"The offensive line was really able to dominate up front, that helped us out so much," Nature Coast coach Jamie Joyner said.

The Sharks (2-6), a first-year varsity team but in its second year of football overall, won for the first time since its opener against Shorecrest.

"I'd like to play them again," Johnson said. "When I build a little bit of depth, I'd like to come back over here and play them again. I didn't see anything we couldn't play against."